SDI Launches Environmental Quality Operations

After many years of building equipment for environmental sampling and supporting and performing environmental surveys, Specialty Devices Inc. (SDI) breaks into the biological survey and environmental remediation space with the opening Environmental Quality Operations (EQO).

Through partnerships with the Texas Life-Science Collaboration Center (TLCC) and Austin Community College (ACC), SDI’s EQO is housed at the TLCC biotech incubator in Georgetown, Texas. and partially funded through an Emerging Technology Fund (ETF) grant issued to ACC by the state of Texas. Environmental Quality Operations (EQO) aims to bring modern molecular biological techniques, common in cancer diagnostics and treatment, to the field of environmental biology. Initial service launches will focus on both traditional and novel biological survey services in aquatic environments. Through the development of next-generation microbiome extraction and analysis technologies, EQO’s proprietary biological survey platforms are capable of quantifying and comparing native and invasive species content at a lower cost and faster turn-around compared to traditional sampling methodologies.

January 29th, 2016

Sampling Begins for Next-Generation Zebra Mussel Detection Platform

Good News! Work has begun for the launch of a next-generation zebra mussel detection platform based at EQO. Sample sites include Lake Texoma and Lake Lavon in north Texas, sites with known zebra mussel infestations, and a negative control lake with low probability of zebra mussel activity in south central Texas. The invasive zebra mussel poses a substantial threat to water systems, recreational areas, and ecological biodiversity throughout a large portion of the United States, including northeast and central Texas. As such, development of a high-throughput, quantitative, high sensitivity, genetic assay is a vital tool in the prevention of infestation. By catching the infestation earlier than traditional methods, with lower cost, and with higher turn-around times, planning, control and eradication of infestation becomes far less of a daunting task. Specialty Devices Inc. and EQO plan to launch this service in late 2nd, or early 3rd quarter, 2016.

EQO ‘s goal is to offer an accurate monitoring capability which can confirm if the organism exists in the water body and if so, its relative infestation level.

The EQO method should provide a quick turn around from sampling to results of possible infestation.

EQO’s method minimizes the required field effort with a simple sampling method.

February 5th, 2016

Biological Sampling for Fecal Contamination Indicator Species Assay Services Launches

Environmental Quality Operations has launched its first traditional detection service, along with a genetic verification assay for the detection bacteria indicative of fecal contamination in water and soil samples. As commercial, residential, and agricultural development grow, water resources near such development are at increased risk for blooms of E. coli and other fecal indicator bacterial species. These blooms threaten the human health for communities that utilize contaminated fresh water resources and threaten local ecologies, including fisheries. Monitoring fecal indicator species contamination resources is an essential process for the maintenance of water resources and SDI and EQO provide this service to protect your fresh water. Based in Georgetown, Texas, EQO intends to offer this service in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and New Mexico.